Branding, naming rights and marketing have been Red Bull's main motivation when acquiring clubs despite their financial clout resulting in major success on the pitch too.

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Under UEFA rules Red Bull could not fully own another European club in case they draw Salzburg or Leipzig in the Champions or Europa League.

However, they can become major shareholders, bankrolling ambitious recruitment drives and expansions through extravagant shirt sponsorship deals, stadium renaming deals and a change in the club’s name to include their own.

FC Salzburg used to be called SV Austria Salzburg until 2005 when they bought it, changed the name to FC Red Bull Salzburg and the teams colours from traditional violet and white, to red and white, to fit in better with their brand.

The club also play in the Red Bull Arena and change their club crests on their European shirts to satisfy football's European governing body.

Similarly RB Leipzig has become the most hated club in German football with the club’s rise into the top flight dogged by boycotts and protests over its Red Bull-fuelled commercial structure.

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SalzburgUntil 2009, RB Leipzig was a fifth-division club called SSV Markranstädt that few had heard of even in its native Saxony.

Then the Austrian energy drink manufacturer Red Bull bought the club’s licence, changed its name, crest and kit, and promised an £85 million transfer budget.

German football rules do not allow clubs to be named after their sponsors but the company got around this, calling it Rasenballsport Leipzig, meaning “lawn ball sports” – a name that the club’s marketing team studiously avoids in its promotional material in favour of “The Red Bulls” or simply “RB”.

Critics also believe the business structure undermines a national system that has seen German football become a model for success. Under their the 50+1 rule clubs must hold a majority of their own voting rights, deterring takeovers from big investors out to make a fast buck at the expense of fans.

It means in Borussia Dortmund’s case that 139,000 paying members have a veto over issues such as ticket prices.

RB Leipzig visit the Allianz Arena in a crucial clash at the top of the table

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Marcel Sabitzer rose through divisions in Austria before moving to Leipzig

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West Ham was recently valued at £200m and, although co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold insist they have no plans to sell, their resolve is being tested thanks to their gleaming new home in a coveted location and as foreign investors increasingly circle England’s top clubs.

And Sullivan has also admitted: "We might sell a shareholding to clear our debts."